Are Coyotes playing their last game in the Valley?

NHL team reportedly is exiting for Salt Lake City

The Arizona Coyotes have one game left to close out the 2023-24 season.

Will it be the last the franchise plays with the kachina logo on their sweaters?

All signs are pointing to the answer being yes.

The team and the National Hockey League weren’t talking over the weekend, but Salt Lake City and a prospective owner hungry for a franchise are rolling out the red carpet. Late Friday, multiple reports said the team was notified by General Manager Bill Armstrong that it would be relocating to Salt Lake City after the season ends.

The Coyotes play their final game of the season Wednesday at Mullett Arena in Tempe at 7 p.m., against the Edmonton Oilers. The Coyotes, which will miss the playoffs, played the final road game of the season Sunday evening at Calgary.

The NHL did not respond to requests for comment on Saturday. Its board of governors would have to approve any ownership change or team relocation. But the Phoenix Mayor’s Office released a statement and two letters from Coyotes owner Alex Meruelo.

The second letter, from April 10, asks for a meeting with the mayor about a proposed arena and entertainment district in northeast Phoenix. That meeting is still on for later this month, a mayor’s spokesperson confirmed.

The scenario raises additional speculation about whether, if the current franchise is moving, Arizona might get a new team in the future.

The Coyotes likely will be sold to billionaire Utah Jazz owner Ryan Smith, and the deal will guarantee Meruelo an expansion team if a new arena is built in Arizona within five years, the Associated Press reported Saturday, quoting an unnamed source.

The deal would transfer the franchise’s hockey operations first to the NHL and then to Smith, who plans to move the team to Salt Lake City, the AP reported.

Meruelo would maintain business operations and move forward in his attempt to buy state land and build an arena and entertainment district in northeast Phoenix, the AP said.

Dailyfaceoff.com reported Wednesday that the NHL was drafting two versions of the Coyotes’ schedule for next season, one with the team playing at